Education
Chicago Teachers Union Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Illinois Policy Institute Over Audit Allegations
(WTTW News)
The Chicago Teachers Union is suing the Illinois Policy Institute, claiming the nonprofit think tank has defamed the union by framing it as “toxic” in an alleged effort to undermine its progressive policies.
The union announced the defamation lawsuit late Monday against the Illinois Policy Institute, its legal arm, the Liberty Justice Center, and Austin Berg, the institute’s vice president of marketing.
“They have tried to use misrepresentations of our union and our President to undermine Chicago values and undo people-first policies,” CTU Vice President Jackson Potter said in a statement. “In filing this suit, we’re standing up for the Union and its members and the truth.”
Through its lawsuit, which was filed in Cook County court, the CTU claims the IPI has engaged in a yearslong, anti-CTU marketing campaign and is “not interested in context or truth.”
The IPI describes itself as a nonpartisan think tank, while the CTU claimed it was launched as a “marketing agency disguised as a think tank” to push a conservative political agenda in Illinois.
An IPI spokesperson did not comment on the specific allegations but said in a statement Tuesday the institute is “reviewing the case at this time.”
The lawsuit comes nearly two years after the Liberty Justice Center filed suit against the CTU on behalf of four union members, demanding that the CTU produce an audit after the center claimed they failed to do so for multiple years.
It also comes months ahead of crucial elections on the Chicago Board of Education and next year’s mayoral election.
The CTU claimed that the IPI, Liberty Justice Center and Berg have published social media posts and articles falsely accusing the union of “cooking its books” through fraudulent accounting and engaging in “potentially criminal conduct,” according to the new lawsuit.
Attorneys for the union argued the truth about the delayed audits is “far less sensational” and that delays were instead caused by staffing turnover, pandemic-era complications and the impact of a separate lawsuit centered on teachers’ pensions.
But they claim the defendants acted with “actual malice” by allegedly making knowingly false and damaging public statements after already learning of this through the Justice Center’s own lawsuit.
“They are interested in disseminating a false narrative designed to undermine CTU,” the lawsuit states. “So, they have made public accusations that CTU engaged in criminal activity and fraud in relation to its audits, using incendiary language, innuendo, and inflammatory graphics to attack and attempt to weaken CTU in the eyes of its members, Chicago students and their families, voters, and the broader community.”
According to the CTU, those allegedly defamatory statements came as part of a “premeditated effort” to hurt the union. They argued the defendants engaged in a strategy to “make the union itself toxic” through sustained negative messaging that allegedly involved racist and sexist tropes.
The lawsuit complaint includes a 2025 Liberty Justice Center social media post with CTU President Stacy Davis Gates next to a sign stating “Cooked Books” that is designed to appear like a sign from the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain.
Another 2025 post includes Potter and Davis Gates as the authors of a fake cook book titled “Cooking The Books.”
Through its suit, the CTU is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
“The complaint explains that the defendants have been engaged in a campaign designed to harm the Union in the public eye by making false assertions,” attorney John Owen, of the law firm Chapman Spingola, which is representing the CTU, said in a statement. “Our client is bringing this case to protect its reputation, its members, and the integrity of public discourse. We look forward to proving our claims in court.”
